Final Demo Reel

My final Demo Reel cut.

DEMO REEL BREAKDOWN

00:00-00:06              Concepts, designs, motion graphic animations in After Effects.

00:06-00:12              Chroma Key, BG prep, Composited BG and Key in NUKE.

00:16-00:18              BG prep, defocused BG, graded and animated in NUKE.

00:19-00:20              Roto work in NUKE.

00:20-00:22              Comp window roto with graded BG footage in NUKE.

00:22-00:24              Comp BG with hotel room reflections in NUKE.

00:25-00:27              Chroma Key green screen footage in NUKE.

00:27-00:28              Despil cut out subject in NUKE.

00:28-00:30              Composit subject on BG plate in NUKE.

00:30-00:35              Final Comp with color correction, grain, etc in NUKE.

Demo Reel in Progress

Demo Reel in progress! Still working on this, but it's getting closer.

Reduce Poly Count with Decimation Master in ZBRUSH

Let's say you just spent tens of hours sculpting your latest model and have upwards of 10 million polygons, so what now? It's pretty obvious that you can't bring that into Maya without giving the poor program a conniption fit. If only there was way you could preserve all that detail, but not have to go through the whole tedious process of using Z-Remesher and having to divide/project (we all know how long that can take). Also, you can bring in a model without needing normal and displacement maps!

This is where Decimation Master comes in to save the day. Decimation Master is a plugin for ZBrush which allows you to reduce the poly count but still keep high resolution detail. Like most plugins that ship free with ZBrush, this can save you great amounts of time without costing you any extra monies!

Lets get started.

I have a high resolution model (just over 14 million polygons), but thats too big for what I want to do so I need to bring it down somewhat before I drop it into Maya.

First, I need to save a copy of my model or clone it using the clone features now available in the tool menu.

You can mask off any detail that you want to keep at 100% such as fine wrinkles or sharp edges.

Next comes the longest process, the Pre-Process Current step. This may take a while depending on your computer and model. Mine took around 20 minutes, but I'll be worth it in the end.

Once your done with your Pre-Process, you and adjust the sliders to get your desired look and poly count. I set mine for 10% which will give me around 1.4 million polygons. Now just hit the Decimation Current/All tabs and WHAM! That was fast, maybe a few seconds since it's all Pre-Processed. But, I think I want it lower, maybe down to 2%. 

That gave me around 284,000 polygons and it still looks great!

 Just export your subtools and your ready to drop it into Maya (without any maps).

Just imagine how much time you'll save by not having to hook up all those maps.  Decimation master could be a game changer for me and I'm guessing you will benefit from it too. I doubt it will end the need for displacement/normal maps, but at least it gives you an option to keep detail and still reduce poly count. As you can see, the new lower poly count model is pretty similar to the original. I couldn't tell unless I zoomed in to around 400 percent and it still looks good. Enjoy!

Compare & Contrast

My recreation of Mark Rothko’s abstract expressionist is finished and I attempted to improve the emotional reaction and focal prowess, but each of those things should be left to real artists like Rothko. I tried to use similar colors from Rothko’s original, but it proved too difficult to recreate the oil colors using colored pencils. I also kept the theme of rectangular shaped boxes to maintain some unity. However instead of keeping the boxes solid in color, I added a sunset scene in the bottom two boxes to give the viewer something to focus on. I added birds flying across the upper third of the composition to add motion. There is also a slight hint of yellow ripples in the bottom rectangle that is supposed to represent the sunset reflecting off the ocean. I’m not a traditional artist, but I found it interesting to attempt to expound upon another artists finished work. I started out not liking Rothko’s piece, but by the time I finished this assignment, I had found a deep appreciation for the piece. It proved far more difficult to improve this painting than I had expected and I now understand it’s simplistic nature.

Work in Progress

Objective Critique

This oil on canvas piece by Mark Rothko is an abstract expressionist painting that combines a bold use of warm colors with the use of large rectangular shapes. Two of the shapes are a mixture of orange and yellow while the top shape is closer to yellow, but each of the shapes are longer than they are tall. The background is a primarily red with a light dusting of white flaked throughout the painting. Rothko uses shapes to create proportion in this piece. This can be seen in the use of variation in the size of each rectangle to ensure there is adequate focus distributed among the focal area. He uses shape to create unity. This can be seen in that the composition is created using three rectangular shapes that are each different heights, as they get closer to the top of the painting. Rothko uses space to create a sense of unity. The red background space is the glue that holds this piece together and without it, would feel more disjointed. Rothko does use the Elements of Art and Principles of Design effectively in this piece.

Subjective Critique

Looking at this oil on canvas painting by Mark Rothko, I felt next to no emotions. I didn’t feel excited, I didn’t feel sad and I couldn’t tell what or where I was supposed to look. I feel art should evoke an emotional response from its viewers, but I felt none of that when I look at this painting.

Three reasons you don’t like it: There are a few reasons I’m not fond of this painting. First, there is nothing that anchors my attention. I see three thick lines/boxes, but not one that stands out more than the others. The top line is a different color than the other two, but my eyes wander around the painting looking for a subject. Second, I’m not fond of the method the medium (oil) was applied to the canvas. It looks sloppy and hurried. The top line doesn’t look completed and the base layer looks like it’s pealing. Lastly, art should stimulate one of the senses in some way, but this painting fails to stimulate any of my senses. The colors are almost pleasant, but the top shade of yellow/green is an eyesore.  The shapes are almost interesting, but don’t add enough contrast. The background has an interesting texture, but has no separation from the foreground objects other than a slight color change. This painting evokes no emotions, there is nothing to anchor my attention and it appears poorly rendered. 

To change this image, I would fix a few issues. The most important aspect I would add would be a focus point; there needs to be something to look at. This focus point could be duel purpose. It could be a point for the eyes to converge and also help evoke an emotional response from the viewer.  Since the colors are similar to a sunset, I might use the color palatte and style, but reorganize it into a rendering of a landscape sunset scene.